Dust separator



y 1932- I H. R. BALLOU 1,859,861

" DUST SEPARATOR Filed March 18, 1929 2. Sheets-Sheet l H. R. BALLOU I May 24, 1932.

' DUST SEPARATOR Filed March 18, 1929 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -JzQzrry Zia/J60 /Zii ,mw

Patented May 24, l932 tssasei oFFr HARRY It. BALLOT), 0F CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOB T0 'I'HE HD OVEB comm, A GOR- PORATION OI OHIO DUST SEPARATOR- Application filed March 18, 1929. Serial No. 347,804.

This invention relates to dust separators and particularly to dust collecting bags for electric suction cleaners. More specifically, the invention is directed to the construction of a dust bag which is made of aper or, other fibrous material, as distinguis ed from the conventional woven fabric bag.

At the present time, suction cleaners are almost universally equipped with fabric dust bags which are made of woven cloth material.

and which are generally used throu bout the entire life of the suction cleaner. T ese fabric bags are considered more or less unsatisfactory as they become very dirty on the outside, and in addition to presenting a displeasing appearance, the task of emptying the dirt collected in the bag is a very disagreeable one. Strings, hair and other matter which are gathered by the cleaner become commingled with other dirt and compact into felted mass inside of the bag which is relatively hard to shake out from the dust bag mouth. in order to clean this bag, .it is often necessary to insert ones hand into the bag and pull out the disagreeable mass a handful at a time. Also, in order to clean the hag, it is often necessary to shake it so that all the finer particles of dust may be removed. During the shaking operation much of the finer dust may escape into the room causing a condition which is unsanitary, and hazardous to health.

The present invention overcomes all the objections and disadvantages ofthe present conventional cloth fabric bag and its primary object is to provide a bag made of paper, or

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other fibrous material, which is sufficiently strong so that it can be used without employing an enclosing fabric or other container, of a type which is well known in the art at,'the present time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paper, or other fibrous dust bag which can be readily and economically manufactured, which is strong and durable in construction, and which can be easily and quickly applied to, and removed from a suction cleaner. 1 i

Another object is to provide a paper or fibrous bag which is relatively small in size I to the bag and and yet has but little resistance to passage of air therethrough, which has a filtering capacity substantially equal to that of the conventional fabric bag, and which is sufliciently strong in texture so that the ba will not quickly fracture or tear when the ag flexes and bends during operation of the cleaner.

A further important object is to provide a paper, or other fibrous bag which can be en- 1 tirely machine-made in a continuous operation in a very short space of time, and which can be made at such a very low cost that it may be burned or otherwise destroyed after use.

A still further object is to provide a dust bag which is made of pa 1', or other fibrous material and which may e made from a single sheet of material out from a continuous roll of material.

Another object is to provide a fibrous, or paper dust bag which is folded, or pleated so that a maximum quantity of bags can he stored, or shipped in a minimum amount of space. r

. A further object of the invention is to provide a folded, or pleated paper bag which I expands, or balloons during normal opera tion of the cleaner, and which is provided with an equal amount of material throughout its entire length to reinforce the bag and permat speed and economy in manufacture.

A still further object is to provide a pleated bag which has the edges of the pleats touching each other at the inlet end, or mouth of the bag, so that the bag securing means will exert an even pressure about the bag mouth where it is attached to the cleaner and form a tight seal to prevent air leaks at that point. I

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide a method of making a paper bag for suction cleaners which is pleated longitudinally of itself and which has a gathered end to provide a mouth for the bag.

And a further object is to provide a paper bag which has the grain of the paper running longitudinally of the bag so as to absorb any stresses and strains which may be applied thereby increase the life of the bag. v r

Another object of the invention is to provide a sanitary pleated bag which has a fiat top which presents a very desirable appear-- folds, or pleats whichexpand during operation of the suction cleaner and return to substantially normal, or initial shape after completion of the cleaning operation. The neck of the bag is folded upon itself with the edges of the pleats engaging each other to provide an equal thickness of material about the periphery of the discharge outlet to reinforce the bag, and to prevent air from leaking be tween the bag and the cleaner discharge neck. These pleats also provide a reinforcement for a the' bag where maximum strain and tension occur due to constant raising and lowering of the cleaner handle.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a selected embodiment of the invention, the views are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a suction cleaner having the improved bag attached thereto in deflated non-operating condition.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the bag shown in Fig. 1 in its inflated or operating condition.

Fig.3 is a detail perspective'view of the bag valve which is arranged in the neck of the bag.

Fig. 4 is a side' view of the bag closing clip employed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the bag clip.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the clip shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail plan view of a modified bag closing means.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 8, 8 of Fig. 7. v

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the bag shown in Fig. 1 and shows the manner in which the bag is folded.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the bag shown in Fig. 9 in substantially collapsed position.

Fig. 11 is-an end view of the bag when folded longitudinally on the broken lines shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a detail plan view of the bag.

Fig. 13 is a detail perspective view showing another method of folding the bag.

Fig. 14 is a similar view showing the bag {glded along the broken lines shown in Fig.

Fig. 15 is a detail sectional view of the clip shown in Figs. 4 to 6 and applied to a bag having another type. of closure.

Fig. 16 is a detail. elevation showing the bag in Fig. 15 in folded position before the clip is applied.

Fig. 17 is a detail elevation showing another method for closing the discharge opening, and I Fig. 18 is a sectional view of the bag shown in Fig. 17 and having the clip applied thereto.

Referring to the drawin and "particularly to Figs. 1 to 6 thereo 10 designates generally a suction cleaner having a casing 11, to which a bail 12 is pivotally attached. A discharge outlet 13 communicates with the interior of the casing 11 and forms a continuous passage from the cleaner nozzle 14 to the dust bag 15 which may be secured to an adapter 16 to properly connect the bag 15 to the discharge outlet 13. A handle 17 is secured to the bail 12 for propelling the suction cleaner, and it is provided with bag suspension means 18 for operatively connecting the upper part of the dust bag in proper POSI- tion relative to the cleaner handle.

The dust bag 15 is provided with a tapering neck 19. Fig. 2, and it has a cylindrical bag valve 20 secured to the neck to prevent dust collected in the bag during operation of the cleaner, from falling out through the bag mouth, and into the air passageway of the suction cleaner. This valve is substantially cylindrical in form, as shown in Fig. 3, and is sewn or otherwise secured to the neck 19 as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The upper end of the bag is provided with an opening, the full width thereof, through which dirt collected in the bag may be emptied if desired. A bag closing means or clip 21, Figs. 4 to 6. is preferably made from a single substantially tubular piece of spring metal, and it is provided with a longitudinal slot 22 which receives the upper end of the bag to close the top opening thereof. The slot may be rounded as shown so that the bag may be properly guided into the slot. An eye 23 is struck up at the top of the clip to form an attachment loop for the suspension means 18 to secure the upper end of the bag to the suction cleaner handle 17.

Instead of providing the clip shown in Figs. 4 to '6. the bag 15 may be sealed to prevent emptying and reuse and thereby maintain the sanitary feature for which the bag is intended. In the latter case eyelets 24 and 25 mav be provided to receive a cord, or other attaching member 26 for connect ng the bag to the suspension means. If this closing means is employed it is preferable that the bag be folded over upon itself and then sealed by the eyelets as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8. to provide a positive seal across the top of the bag to prevent it from being emptied and to prevent dust from escaping through that end.

It has been found preferable to make the bag with a plurality of longitudinal creases at both sides, said creases or pleats running from the mouth of the bag to its upper end, as designated by the numerals 27 to 34 inclusive, Fig. 9. The top 35 and bottom 36 are substantially fiat so that when the bag is completely collapsed as shown in Fig. 10, a very compact and neat appearing structure is obtained requiring only a m nimum amount of space for storing and shipping. The free edges 37 and 38 may be secured together at the bottom of the bag as shown to provide a seam 39 which runs longitudinally of the bag forming a reinforcement.

The sheet from which the bag is made may be substantially rectangular in shape, althrough it has been found preferable to cut the bags from a roll of paper after the paper from the roll has been properly formed and creased during its passage through a continuously operating automatic machine. After the sheet from the roll is formed and pleated to conform with the, proper dimensions, the free edges 37 and 38 thereof are pasted along the longitudinal seam 39 to form a substantially fiat and folded tube. The tube is then cut from the roll of paper and assumes the appearance shown in Figs. 9 and 10. One end of the bag is then gathered ,and sewn to form a mouth, Fig. 2, and the valve 20 is secured to the mouth on the inside of the bag. A strip or reinforcing member may be secured around the outside of the reduced end or mouth 14 to form a substantially tubular cuff, Fig. 2, to restrict the ballooning effect of the bag to a region above that point where the bag would cause interference with the bail of the cleaner.

The bag may be folded along the broken lines shown in Fig. 9 into the shape shown in Fig. 11, to assist in forming the mouth, or it may be made circular so that the bag mouth will properly fit over the cleaner discharge outlet whether the outlet be circular or polygonal.

In Figs. 13 and 14 there is shown another method of folding the bag to produce a collapsible bag which will readily balloon during operation of the cleaner. When the bag shown in Fig. 13 is creased along the broken lines shown it will assume the position shown in Figs. 13 and 14; the result produced being substantially the same as that described above. For shipping purposes the col lapsible bag is quite compact, and during operation of the cleaner it will balloon to a substantially symmetrical shape.

In forming the mouth of the bag, the pleats or folds are arranged so that the edges of the pleats will practically touch each other as shown in Figs. 11 and 14. By arranging its folds in this manner an equalthickness of In order to make a tighter seal at the discharge or upper end of the bag, the bag may be folded to provide an overlapping portion 40, Fig. 15, over which a U-shaped member 41 is arranged, and the clip may be inserted thereover as shown. 7

Another means for providing a tight seal across the open end of the bag is to attach a strip bf cardboard or other material-42 to one side of the bag so that when the top edges of the bag are folded over, the clip 21 will hold the bag and prevent it from coming out of the slot 22 except by sliding the bag longitudinally of the clip. This latter construction is clearly shown in Fig. 18.

The invention provides a dust bag which is preferably made of paper, or other fibrous material, and which has a filtering dust separating ability equal to, or even better than, the conventional cloth dust bag. The present type of bag, as explained, can be very economically manufactured, and it is primarily designed to be destroyed after use so as to prevent the usual unsanitary emptying operation. In practice it has been found that a paper bag of the present kind will stand up very well, under normal operating condihas excellent filtering qualities. The present bag also has sufficient tensile strength so that no outside bag, or other supporting member, is required to hold it in place.

The various methods'shown disclose various means for providing anair-tight seal across the open end of the bag should it be desired to empty the bag at intervals rather than destroyit after the bag has become reasonably full.

Changes may be made in the form, construction, and arangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A pleated paper bag having a mouth, the pleats at the mouth of said bag being gathered and abutting each other to provide a continuity of thicknesses about said mouth to prevent air leaks where the bag is fasened to a suction cleaner.

2. The method of making paper bags for suction cleaners which comprises forming a substantially cylindrical tube from a sheet of paper and providing longitudinal pleats in said tube, gathering the pleats at one end to provide a mouth, and then securing an inof said bag being secured in folded relation 1 to said tubular inlet member to form a re-'- duced inlet mouth at one end of the bag.

4. A dust collecting bag for a suction cleaner, formed of sheet material and provided with longitudinal pleats extending the full length of the bag, and a tubular inlet member, said pleatsbeing folded at one end of said bag and permanently secured in folded relation to said tubular inlet member.

5. A tubular dust collecting bag for a suction cleaner formed from a sheet of matted fibrous material, said tubular" bag being folded to a definite reduced perimeter at one end, a circumferentially-extending member to which the folded portions are permanentlfy secured at such end, and detachable means or closing the other end of said tubular bag.

6. A dust collecting bag for a suction cleaner, formed of air-permeable sheet material and provided with longitudinal pleats,

and a circumferentially-extending member to which said leats are permanently secured in folded relation at one end of the bag to form a reduced neck of definite perimeter, saidpleats being free to unfold adjacent said member to permit expansion of said bag.

Signed at Canton, in the county of Stark A and State of Ohio, this 8th day of March,

HARRY R. BALLOU. 

